LIVING WELL IS THE
BEST REVENGE
-george herbert[1593-1633] english clergyman and metaphysical poet it’s only when your poison spins into the life you’d hoped to live and suddenly you wake up in a shaken panic now you had set me up like a lamb to slaughter garbo as the farmer’s daughter unbelievable. the gospel according to...who? I lay right down. all your sad and lost apostles hum my name and flare their nostrils choking on the bones you tossed to them now I’m not one to sit and spin because living well is the best revenge and baby, I am calling you on that. don’t turn your talking points on me. history will set me free the future is ours and you don’t even rate a footnote. now so who’s chasing you? where did you go, you disappear midsentence in a judgement crisis... I see my in and go for it. you weakened shill all your sad and lost apostles hum my name and flare their nostrils choking on the bones you tossed to them now I’m not one to sit and spin because living well is the best revenge and baby, I am calling you on that. you, savor your dying breath I forgive but I don’t forget. you work it out. let’s hear that argument again. camera 3. go. now. all your sad and lost apostles hum my name and flare their nostrils choking on the bones you tossed to them now I’m not one to sit and spin because living well is the best revenge and baby I am calling you on that. baby I am calling you on that. baby I am calling you on that.
MAN-SIZED WREATH
SUPERNATURAL SUPERSERIOUS
turn on the tv, what do I see? a pageantry of empty gestures all lined up for me, wow
"my brain is the key that sets me free" harry houdini, 1874-1926
I’d have thought by now we would be ready to proceed but a tearful hymn to tug the heart and a man-sized wreath, oww. THROW IT ON THE FIRE THROW IT IN THE AIR KICK IT OUT ON THE DANCE FLOOR LIKE YOU JUST DON’T CARE. OH, GIVE ME SOME wave the palms, steal the alms, a fist in the air. a motorcade of benign strength shows the people that you care, owww. nature abhors a vacuum, but what’s between your ears? your judgement clouded with fearful thoughts, headlights and a deer, oww. THROW IT ON THE FIRE THROW IT IN THE AIR KICK IT OUT ON THE DANCE FLOOR LIKE YOU JUST DON’T CARE. LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND! EVERYBODY LOOK AROUND EVERYBODY LOOKING LIKE THEY JUST DON’T CARE. GIVE ME SOME well, I am not deceived by pomp and odious conceit but a tearful hymn to tug the heart and a man-sized wreath, oww THROW IT ON THE FIRE THROW IT IN THE AIR KICK IT OUT ON THE DANCE FLOOR LIKE YOU JUST DON’T CARE. LOOK AT WHAT I FOUND! EVERYBODY LOOK AROUND EVERYBODY LOOKING LIKE THEY JUST DON’T CARE. THROW IT ON THE FIRE THROW IT IN THE AIR KICK IT OUT ON THE DANCE FLOOR LIKE YOU JUST DON’T CARE. GIVE ME SOME give me some. give me some.
-
everybody here comes from somewhere that they would just as soon forget and disguise at the summer camp where you volunteered no one saw your face, no one saw your fear if that apparition had just appeared took you up and away from this base and sheer humiliation. of your teenage station. nobody cares no one remembers and nobody cares yeah you cried and you cried he’s alive he’s alive yeah you cried and you cried and you cried and you cried if you call out “safe” then I’ll stop right away if the premise buckles and the ropes start to chafe the details smart but the story’s the same you don’t have to explain, you don’t have to explain humiliation. of your teenage station. yeah you cried and you cried he’s alive he’s alive yeah you cried and you cried and you cried and you realized your fantasies are dressed up in travesties enjoy yourself with no regrets everybody here comes from somewhere that they would just as soon forget and disguise
yeah you cried and you cried he’s alive he’s alive yeah you cried and you cried and you cried and you cried now there’s nothing dark and there’s nothing weird don’t be afraid i will hold you near. from the seance where you first betrayed an open heart on a darkened stage. a celebration of your teenage station. this inexperience, supernatural, inexperience, supernatural, wow.
sweet, delirious. superserious. sweet, delirious. superserious,
HOLLOW MAN I’ve been lost inside my head. echoes fall off me . I took the prize last night for complicated mess for saying things I didn’t mean and don’t believe believe in me, believe in nothing corner me and make me something I’ve become the hollow man, have I become the hollow man I see? I see this echoing you had placed your trust in me I went upside down. I emptied out the room in 30 seconds flat I can’t believe you held your ground believe in me, believe in nothing corner me and make me something I’ve become the hollow man, have I become the hollow man I see? I’m overwhelmed, I’m on repeat I’m emptied out, I’m incomplete you trusted me, I want to show you I don’t want to be the hollow man believe in me, believe in nothing corner me and make me something I’ve become the hollow man, have I become the hollow man I see?
HOUSTON IF THE STORM DOESNT KILL ME, THE GOVERNMENT WILL. GOTTA GET THAT OUT OF MY HEAD. IT’S A NEW DAY TODAY AND THE COFFEE IS STRONG, I FINALLY GOT SOME REST. SO A MAN’S PUT TO TASK AND CHALLENGES. I WAS TAUGHT TO HOLD MY HEAD HIGH. COLLECT WHAT IS MINE, MAKE THE BEST OF WHAT TODAY HAS. HOUSTON IS FILLED WITH PROMISE, LAREDO’S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. AND GALVESTON SINGS LIKE THAT SONG THAT I LOVED, ITS MEANING HAS NOT BEEN ERASED. AND SO THERE ARE CLAIMS FORGIVEN AND SO THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE GONE. HOUSTON IS FILLED WITH PROMISE, LAREDO’S A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. AND GALVESTON SINGS LIKE THAT SONG THAT I LOVED, ITS MEANING HAS NOT BEEN ERASED. AND SOME THINGS THEY FALL TO THE WAYSIDE THEIR MEMORIES YET TO BE STILLED BELIEF HAS NOT FAILED ME AND SO I AM PUT TO THE TEST
ACCELERATE
sinking fast, the weights chained to my feet. no time to argue with belief. I’m not alone, a thousand others dropping faster than me. what put me here, nothing to hold onto, nowhere to brake. where is the rip cord, the trap door, the key? where is the cartoon escape hatch for me? no time to question the choices I make I’ve got to fall in another direction. the last thing I remember is climbing up the stairs. I threw the window open, challenging despair. i don’t know what i need, i needed time, i needed to escape. i saw the future turned upside down and hesitated. where is the rip cord, the trap door, the key? where is the cartoon escape hatch for me? no time to question the choices I make I’ve got to fall in another direction. accelerate.
the vista I see now is changing. uncertainty is suffocating. hope has never felt so grating. lit up dim, and pounding pulse. make it go. make it slow down. and go where is the rip cord, the trap door, the key? where is the cartoon escape hatch for me? no time to question the choices I make I’ve got to fall in another direction. the city sputters like it’s ready to explode. accelerate to make it slow, make it go. accelerate to make it slow, make it go. accelerate, I’m incomplete, I’m incomplete, I’m incomplete
UNTIL THE DAY IS DONE
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross. --Sinclair Lewis thanks for the last and greatest betrayal of the last and greatest of human dreams. thanks for the american dream to vulgarize and falsify until the bare lies shine through. --william s. burroughs the battle’s been lost, the war is not won. an addled republic, a bitter refund. the business first flat earthers licking their wounds the verdict is dire, the country’s in ruins. providence blinked, facing the son and where are we left, to carry on until the day is done until the day is done so we’ve written our stories to these notions of glory and bull the teleprompt flutters, a power an easyspeak message falls into
entertain market gain. surge brings routine
providence blinked, facing the son and where are we left, to carry on until the day is done until the day is done a voice whispers, “son.” the blessed vision comes. what have i done? what have i done?
so hold tight your babies and your guns. forgive us our trespasses. father and son providence blinked, facing the son and where are we left, to carry on until the day is done until the day is done until the day is done
MR. RICHARDS mr. richards, your position is a messenger pigeon left behind you when the camp moved on you thought that you had listened but the words had never crystallized into a truth that you might own, hey hey mr. richards, your decision pay attention, pay attention mr. richards you’re forgiven for a narrow lack of vision but the fires are still raging on the public’s got opinions and these consequences border on the compound that you razed where “zealots” sang, hey, hey mr. richards, your decision pay attention, pay attention
you can thump your chest and rattle stand in front of your piano but we know what’s going on. yes, we know what’s going on we’re the children of the choir, hey. from the compound fire, hey and we know what’s going on. yes, we know what’s going on.
SING FOR THE SUBMARINE
it feels, in dreams, that everything’s there for you the city breathes and pulses, its fuel, electron blue. i knew, that you, could see right through it so this is where you give in to the machine lift up your voice, feel gravitys pull, and drown out the sirens ring ohhhh it’s all here where i keep it. it’s all in the submarine. it’s all a lot less frightening than we would’ve had it be. and that’s the good news, my darling it is what it’s going to be, so sing, sing for the submarine.
so listen, your intention sign the paper, stamp the ribbon you’re mistaken if you think we’ll just forget.
i tried to explain how it all begins how it’s all destroyed and built again. i knew, that you, could not believe me.
you can thump your chest and rattle stand in front of your piano but we know what’s going on. yes, we know what’s going on we’re the children of the choir, hey. and we know what’s going on. mr. richards, your conviction had us cheering in the kitchen now the jury’s eating pigeon pie
but now you’re here and it’s different, how the light shines in your eyes and every second a century, it’s then that i realized. the world as we know it, a high speed train, we’ll pick it all up and start again
so tell me, how is prison? have they taught you how to listen? we’ve begun to bridge the schism, pay attention, pay attention. mr. richards, your decision pay attention, pay attention
it’s all here where i keep it. it’s all in the submarine. it’s all a lot less frightening than we would’ve had it be. and that’s the good news, my darling it is what it’s going to be, so sing, sing for the submarine. the city did not collapse in a shudder the rain, it never came. at least my confessions made you laugh,
i know it’s a little crazed. but these dreams, they seem, so real to me. it’s all here where i keep it. it’s all in the submarine. it’s all a lot less frightening than we would’ve had it be. and that’s the good news, my darling it is what it’s going to be, so sing, sing for the submarine. and so this is where you trust me, that this is where it begins. it’s all a lot less frightening, we’re here in the interim. tyrell and his mechanical owl, a moth disguised as a leaf. don’t tell me what tomorrow brings, we climb into the hidden machine, and sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing, sing for the submarine.
HORSE TO WATER I could have kept my head down. I might have kept my mouth shut. I should have held my own, you lead a horse to water and you watch him drown. you’re only as big as your battles. rattle my cage with your shadow I’m a bantamweight with a mouthful of feathers don’t you know that what comes around goes around I’m not that easy I am not your horse to water I hold my breath I come around round round don’t darken my doorstep again you’re mixing up lemonade gin-gin you’re mixing up lose with win/win lead a horse to water and you watch him drown. you’re stumble on glass top table. divas chewing chalk on cable. humvee up a beanstalk fable, I don’t call this entertainment ‘cause humpty’s falling down. I’m not that easy I am not your horse to water I hold my breath I come around round round
pick a fight launch a buzzy bar brawl Friday night cufk or fight a pub crawl bantamweight with a mouthful of feathers don’t you know that what comes around goes around?
because death is pretty final. I’m collecting vinyl. I’m gonna dj at the end of the world
I’m not that easy I am not your horse to water I hold my breath I come around round round
hey steady steady, hey steady steady I don’t wanna go until I’m good and ready it’s on my mind, it’s in my mind it’s what I found, and it’s what I find
It’s not that easy I am not your horse to water I hold my breath I come around round round you’re going down down down this run around round round is bound to pound the daylights out of you
‘cause it’s on my mind, it’s in my mind it’s what I found, Oh my oh my
I’M GONNA DJ
death is pretty final. I’m collecting vinyl. I’m gonna dj at the end of the world ‘cause if heaven does exists with a kickin’ playlist I don’t wanna miss it at the end of the world
ackaging:
hey steady steady, hey steady steady I don’t wanna go until I’m good and ready hey steady steady, hey steady steady I don’t wanna go until I’m good and ready music will provide the light you cannot resist! you cannot resist you cannot resist yeah.
music will provide the light you cannot resist. you cannot resist, you cannot resist and the weblogs that get tangled as you willie and you wangle in your walk-up in Seattle where you fought the nascent battle. and you threw the thread and throttle let us raise another bottle raise another bottle raise another bottle
All Songs Buck, Mills, Stipe ©2008 Temporary Music (BMI) except “Airliner” written by Buck, Mills, Stipe, McCaughey, published by Temporary Music (BMI)/MacNor Music (BMI) administered by Bug Music, and “Red Head Walking” written by Calvin Johnson, published by Beat Happening/Grave Digger Blues (BMI) Temporary Music administered in all worlds, now known and hereafter devised, by Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. Lyrics Reprinted by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
Lee
Jacknife r.E.M.
Produced by
Mix
&
ed by Jacknife Lee
EnginEERED
FALL
visor
Mc
&
Bell
by Tom
Sam
Additional Musicians:
cott
Ad
S
:
BERTIS Downs
McCaugHEY
BILL RIeflin
CHRis Bilheimer & MICHAel Stipe P
hey steady steady, hey steady steady I don’t wanna go until I’m good and ready... it’s on my mind, and it’s in my mind and it’s what I found, and it’s what I find it’s on my mind, and it’s in my mind and it’s what I found, oh my oh my but “I’ll spin my way right through it.”, claims enthusiast Jack Pruitt. as the moths circle the moon, as you’re circling the room
TECHNICAL ASSiSTANCE: DeWITT Burton Bob WHITTAker Office: KEVIN O'Neil, SarAH PETIT Frierson, Chris BilHEIMER, Mercer BROCKENbrough Davis, David BELL, AmY HAIRston
RECORded:
Vanco Armoury Studios,
ssistant E
Rob Stefanson A
uver,
BC
ngineer:
Second Assistant: Jarrod Grouse Lodge Studio estmeath, Ireland ASSISTANT ENGINEER: CASTELAR
Nestibo
S, CO. W DANI Second Assistant: OWen Lewis Seney-Stovall Chapel, ATHENS, GA Assistant: Brannen Miles
pia
Technical Assistance: Jacqueline Burton
ADDITIONAL RECOrding:
The Olym Theatre, DUBlin Mike's mUSIC ROOM, ATHEns, GA
ixe d: Garage in Kent spital ENT GAR
M
don
The Ho Lon
, Cov
BELL
MIX ENGIneer: Sam Assistant Engineer:
den,
Simon Wall Assistant: Bethina BeaDMAN
SECond Mastered: ALCHEMY SOho, London Mastered by JOHN
DAVIs
B-Side B-Side Live from Athens Georgia Live from Athens Georgia Live from Athens Georgia
CP2008 R.E.M./Athens, L.L.C. under exclusive license to Warner Bros. Records Inc. for the U.S. and WEA International Inc. for the world outside the U.S. warnerbrosrecords.com
WWW.REMHQ.COM